Arrow-Rieka

50

After a few weeks or so of round the clock torture, I'm left hanging by the chains on my wrist. Ras comes back later and sighs.

"I was foolish to think that a few weeks would break you, I was also foolish to think that physical torture would do the job." He huffs.

"Well, you know me. Here for a good time not a long time." I state in my snarky tone.

He undoes my chains and helps me up from the ground.

"Why are you doing this?" I grumble as he helps me to the bathtub.

"We still have a deal I have to hold up. Laurel's father is in danger, I need you to protect him. Hold up your end of the deal." Ras says as he picks me up and goes in the tub with me fully clothed.

I rest my pounding head on his chest as he slowly sinks us both down into the healing waters and I can feel all of my wounds start to heal on command.

"That's my girl." He shushes me and I lull off to sleep.

———

I wake up in his bed and he's standing there looking at me with a calm expression. I sit up feeling refreshed and awake.

"Time for you to suit up." He says and hands me my suit that I wore in Star City.

I get dressed and we go off in the smaller jet and go to Star city.

Merlyn's POV:
I finally sit down with Thea in her home. I get there and she's sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

"If you came to see how packing is going, it's not." She responds when I walk through the door.

"No. I came to apologize. I don't want to lose you, Thea. But at the same time, sharing the truth with you is sometimes difficult for me."

"Well, maybe you'll get better with practice." She states in a snarky tone that reminds me of Rieka.

"Who are we running from?" She comes out and asks it.

"His name is Ras Al Ghul."

"And why does he want to kill you?"

"Ras has a particular code of honor he feels I've violated. And he's marked me and my family for death. I fell in with Ras because I was consumed by the death of my wife. And I was marked for death because of the undertaking that killed my son. You're all I have left, Thea. Keeping you safe is all that matters." I try to explain.

"What about Rieka?" She asks and I sigh.

"Ras doesn't see her as so much as mine since she's not blood." I lie remembering how Oliver asked me not to tell Thea about Rieka.

She leaves for a little bit as I stand outside on the terrace. I can't help but think about what Ras might be doing to Rieka. It's probably not pretty since Ras has always been tough on her. Not that she gives him much choice. She knows how to push people's buttons. She's done so since she could crawl.

After a little while Thea comes back and walks out by me.

"Are you ready to leave?" I ask and she sighs.

"No. I'm not leaving." She shakes her head and I look at her confused.

"Is this supposed to make up for me missing your adolescence, this routine of listening and then disobeying me? Because I have had lifetimes of that with Rieka already." I state.